The game of road hockey bears a similar relation to ice hockey as soft ball bears to hard ball. The rules are similar, and a similar puck is put in play between, about and in similar goals, by people manipulating similar sticks to those used in normal play of ice hockey. A stick specially designed to be used as a road hockey stick is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,065, issued Apr. 9, 1968, and another U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,825, issued Sept. 22, 1970.
Because road hockey can be as enjoyable to play for recreation as it can be to play in an essentially competitive spirit, it is enjoyable for a greater number of participants each time an innovation makes it safer to play, provided in enhances or does not reduce the basic similarities between the games. Many who play road hockey also play ice hockey and most at least follow the latter sport. Thus, it is important that a road hockey puck when passed or shot act in flight and in interaction with sticks much like an ice hockey puck does. It is easy to see that a traditional ice hockey puck, if used for road hockey, may make the game too rough to be played by people wearing no more physical protection than street clothes, except those keen enough to avoid or tolerate injury.
Road hockey can be played on convenient hard surfaces like play grounds, parking lots, roads or even on ice.